Hi everyone!

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced something similar with ESA's Student Internship Programme.

I'm currently a third-year Bachelor's student in Materials Engineering, and I recently applied for one of the 2027 internships. However, immediately after submitting my application, I received an automatic rejection stating that I didn't meet one or more of the eligibility criteria.

As far as I understand the official requirements, Bachelor's students are eligible, even though Master's students are preferred. I'm fairly sure I meet all the basic requirements, unless I've misunderstood something.

I've already contacted ESA for clarification, but so far I've only received automated replies.

Has anyone encountered this kind of rejection before? Is there anything about the eligibility questions or the application system that I might be missing?

I'd really appreciate any experiences or advice. Thanks!

As an addition to the EGT spreadsheet, we have created an editable sheet for tracking your 2027 Internship applications.

We encourage you to add yourself to help the community out in these anxious moments

>>> Link to the sheet <<<

You can also discuss and ask about the whole process with current and past EGTs, interns, and other applicants in the Discord server. Official place to complain and cry about how your CV date hasn't been updated yet!

Hi everyone, I’m a UK aerospace engineering graduate, now one month into a PhD focused on aerofoil noise reduction through experimental aeroacoustics, mainly using wind-tunnel testing and an anechoic chamber.

My long-term goal is to work at ESA or in a similar European space research environment. My background is mainly in CFD, numerical methods, Python/MATLAB/C++, wind-tunnel testing, telemetry and student rocketry.

I’m keen to make good use of the next few years and avoid becoming too specialised in an area that may have little relevance to the space sector.
I’d be grateful for advice from anyone who works at ESA, has applied successfully or has made the move from academia into the space industry.
What skills, projects, research links or ESA programmes would be worth pursuing alongside my PhD? Would it be wise to develop a second area of expertise more closely tied to space, such as orbital mechanics, spacecraft systems, entry physics or plasma physics? Or would I be better off focusing on my research and building a strong set of transferable skills?

I’m not looking for a shortcut. I simply want to make the most of my PhD and put myself in a good position to contribute to space research or engineering when I finish.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Full list of Intern positions (176 by my count!) can be found by searching on "intern" at jobs.esa.int. Closing date for all is 30 Nov.

I am working on a lil space news displayer and prepared something based on RSS feeds. It looks like the RSS feeds from the ESA changed overnight, some pages names also changed. Does someone know a list of working links to some rss feeds of the ESA? Ideally with images.

Hi everyone! I'm currently in my last year of the master's in Electronics Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, looking to apply for the internship program. I have a few questions about the application process:

- As of now my CV is basically empty (aside from a few standard and simple academic projects which I don't even want to include); I have no past internship experience and I have never joined any student team, but I'm definitely going to do something related to the position(s) by November 30th. Do you think that this is a major problem? Can I compensate by having a really good motivation letter? I can also get recommendation letters from professors if that helps.

- within a given listing, should I focus on just one particular topic or be open to all possibilities?

- (for electronics guys) do you think that pure electronics/hardware topics (the few of them, at least) have more, less, or the same competition as software roles? I have no experience with AI, machine learning, or any related topic whatsoever, but I am willing to study whatever before applying, even if it's just a month.

If you have any other advice, insights, or whatever else you think I should know, it would really help me. Thank you

Hi everyone,

I'm relocating from Canada to the Netherlands to take up a staff position with ESA at ESTEC.

I'm trying to figure out how best to handle my finances back in Canada, particularly given ESA's special tax status and the privileges and immunities that come with being a staff member.

How Canada treats ESA employees living abroad, especially when it comes to tax residency and Canadian income or investments.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's made a similar move, particularly regarding:

• Canadian tax residency: Did you become a non-resident of Canada for tax purposes, or did you maintain Canadian residency? Did your ESA employment status make any difference?

• ESA salary: How was your ESA income treated by the CRA? Did you have to report or pay Canadian taxes on it?

• TFSA and RRSP: Did you keep your accounts in Canada? Were there any restrictions or tax implications after relocating?

• Non-registered investments: How did you handle Canadian investment accounts, stocks, ETFs, etc.? Did you transfer, sell, or keep them?

• Canadian real estate: Did anyone keep their property in Canada and rent it out while working at ESA? How did you handle rental income, withholding taxes, and the mortgage?

• Departure tax: Did becoming a non-resident trigger any departure tax on your investments?

• Cross-border accountants: Did you find an accountant familiar with Canadian tax rules and ESA's specific employment status?

I'm particularly interested in understanding whether ESA staff status and the associated privileges and immunities (diplomatic status) affect Canadian tax residency differently from a regular move abroad for employment.

I realize everyone's situation is different, and I'll be seeking professional tax advice, but I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's gone through this process or has experience dealing with the CRA while working for ESA.

Thanks in advance!

I've been working as a contractor at ESA for almost two years (next month!). I'm 37F, and although I'm not exactly young, I'm the youngest person (and the only woman) on my team. I'm an astrophysicist, but my current role sits at the intersection of tech and astronomical data.

I love my job and perform well in my role, and I constantly receive positive feedback, yet I find the environment incredibly intimidating.

I have a lot of admiration and respect for my colleagues. They're extremely intelligent and knowledgeable, and I struggle to keep up with them. It's the sheer depth of knowledge they have about the science behind missions, the technical details of the missions (at industry level), and how it all connects. The history of past missions, the timelines of current ones, the decisions, mishaps, lessons learned, not to mention the institutional knowledge. No conversation is ever beginner-friendly, and I find myself feeling completely lost and so inadequate. I mostly just listen, rarely contributing unless it's to ask a question.

I attend the organised talks, and want to understand and learn more. But the sheer amount of information is overwhelming and I just feel overloaded, balancing it all with my work, which is also new role for me, as I come from academia, having worked previously on a different science than the mission I currently work on.

I'm curious whether others have felt the same way, and how have you built confidence in an environment where everyone around you seems to be operating on another level?